Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed Kiev's decision to hold the first exhumation of the remains of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II, the Polish news agency PAP reported, quoted by BTA.
Between 1943 and 1945, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army carried out an ethnic cleansing of about 100,000 Polish men, women and children in the Volyn region, a historically eastern region of Poland that is now part of Ukraine.
The crime, known as the “Volyn massacre“, remains a contentious issue in Polish-Ukrainian relations. While Poland considers it an act of genocide, Ukraine claims that it is part of a wider conflict for which both sides are responsible. Warsaw has repeatedly asked Kiev to search for and exhume the remains of Poles killed during the tragic events.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov visited Poland and met with its Minister of Culture and National Heritage Hana Wroblewska.
“The ministers discussed the key role of culture in maintaining national identity, as well as its impact on the socio-economic development of both countries,“ the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage reported.
Yesterday, Tusk announced on the social network “Ex“ that “finally“ there has been a breakthrough.
“There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I would like to thank the Polish and Slovak ministers of culture for their good cooperation. We expect further decisions“, he wrote.
Thousands protested last night in a number of cities in Slovakia against the policy towards Ukraine of the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The demonstrators accused Fico of following a pro-Russian course and of “betraying“ the Western allies and neighboring Ukraine.
The rallies were organized by the civil initiative “Peace for Ukraine“, which insists on the supply of weapons to Kiev.
Organizers estimate that 15,000 people gathered in front of the government building in Bratislava. The demonstrators carried banners reading "We want to live in a free country" or accusing Fico of being "a coward, a collaborator, a mafia boss and a criminal." The protests were sparked by Fico's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow shortly before Christmas. The Slovak prime minister defended his decision during a parliamentary hearing yesterday. He said that, faced with Ukraine's decision to cut off Russian natural gas transit earlier this year, he was seeking alternative solutions with Putin to present to the European Commission in Brussels. Slovakia is one of the most reliant countries in Europe on Russian gas, DPA noted. The organizers of the demonstrations, however, described Fico's trip as "submission." before Russian interests.
If the government does not change its course, the "Peace for Ukraine" initiative plans to organize new protests on January 24.